CNN
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Calamity Corner: even the name of Royal Portrush’s 16th hole is enough to send a golfer’s heart racing. If anything was going to knock Scottie Scheffler off his unrelenting march through The Open Championship on Saturday, then the dreaded par-three, with its chasmic drop-off along the right, might have been the most likely source.

Two metronomic swings of the club later, the American was plucking his ball out of the cup for birdie, barely a flicker of a reaction on the world No. 1’s face as he began his stride to the next tee.

It was a perfect encapsulation of the clinical precision with which Scheffler once again plotted his way across Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast, as a bogey-free third round 67 powered the tournament favorite into a commanding four-shot lead with 18 holes to play at the 153rd edition of the major.

An eagle at the par-five seventh hole proved the peak of yet another imperious display by the 29-year-old, who has not dropped a shot since bogeying the 11th enroute to a major career-low 64 on Friday.

“I think it would be silly to say that you can never let your mind wander, but I think most of what I can control is the time I have when we’re thinking about the shot and when I’m over the ball,” Scheffler told reporters.

“Most of that’s just being committed to what I’m doing, so I’m not thinking about wind, I’m not thinking about how the ball is going to bounce. I have a picture of what I want to do, and that’s what I’m committed to try and make happen.”

At 14-under par overall, Scheffler is within touching distance of a first Claret Jug that would leave him a US Open crown away from joining Rory McIlroy in completing the career grand slam of all four major titles.

It’s an ominous state of play. The 16-time PGA Tour winner has converted his last seven 54-hole leads or co-leads on the circuit, according to PGA Tour Communications, and all three such advantages at majors; The Masters in 2022 and 2024, as well as May’s PGA Championship.

“I’m excited for the challenge of tomorrow. Winning major championships is not an easy task, and I’ve put myself in a good position,” he said.

“I’m going to step up there on the first tee and I’m going to be trying to get the ball in the fairway, and when I get to the second shot I’m going to be trying to get that ball on the green. There’s not really too much else going on.”

Li and Fitzpatrick lead the chase

There is some historical evidence for the chasing pack to cling onto, however. Tiger Woods is the only world No. 1 to arrive at The Open and win, albeit with the caveat that he did it three times in 2000, 2005 and 2006.

What’s more, closest challenger Haotong Li has pedigree on Open Sunday. The four-time European Tour winner fired a closing 63 at Royal Birkdale in 2017 to climb to third and register the best ever finish by a Chinese golfer at a men’s major.

The world No. 11 had thought about quitting the sport entirely in 2023 after struggles with the dreaded yips, an involuntary muscle tension in the wrist, contributed to a sharp dive in form, but impressed again with a third round 69 to set up a Sunday pairing with a historic talent.

Asked how he got from where he was two years ago to where he is now, Li burst out laughing: “I don’t know. It’s a miracle.”

“Four shots behind … (to) play with world No. 1,” he added. “I’ll just try to play my best out there and hopefully make something happen. I’s going to be exciting.”

England’s Matt Fitzpatrick sits one stroke behind Li at nine-under overall after shooting even-par 71, the boost of a stunning chip-in eagle dampened by three bogeys across the back nine. It left the 2022 US Open victor to rue his putter after a Friday 66 had moved him within a stroke of Scheffler.

“Just made way less putts than Scottie … they just wouldn’t go in,” the 30-year-old told reporters.

“His putting is night and day. From what you guys all talk about how bad it was at one point, I didn’t really play with him in that period. He’s just not missed a putt today … and that’s obviously the difference that’s taken him to this unbeatable run.”

Home hero McIlroy is among the four-strong group sat six shots behind Scheffler at six-under overall, as an eventful 66 saw him pick up one stroke on his American rival.

The world No. 2 had said he felt ready to make a much-needed run and duly tore out of the blocks, opening with a curling putt from over 36 feet for birdie before rolling in his third of the day at the fourth hole.

His momentum was slowed in bizarre circumstances at the par-four 11th when he unearthed a hidden ball while swinging to escape thick rough, his actual attempt falling short of the green and ending in bogey.

“That is the most weird, ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen,” McIlroy reflected after his round. “Then my ball came out really weird and spinny. Just so strange.”

A stunning, 56-foot eagle putt on the following hole reignited the 2014 champion’s round before another birdie at the 15th, but McIlroy is under no illusions about the size of the task he faces to reel in Scheffler and lift a second Claret Jug on home turf.

“He’s playing like Scottie. I don’t think it’s a surprise … He’s just so solid, he doesn’t make mistakes,” McIlroy said.

“He’s turned himself into a really consistent putter as well. So there doesn’t seem to be any weakness there. Whenever you’re trying to chase down a guy like that, it’s hard to do.”

McIlroy is joined in a share of fourth by England’s Tyrrell Hatton, as well as American duo Chris Gotterup and Harris English.

CNN
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When Kodai Senga takes the mound at Citi Field, he’s not just pitching for the New York Mets. He’s part of a rising wave of Japanese talent that’s breathing new life into America’s pastime – and drawing millions of new eyes on both sides of the Pacific.

In an interview with CNN’s Jim Sciutto, the three-time NPB All-Star shared what the transition was like moving from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball to Major League Baseball.

A new generation of talent — and fans

“Of course, there are differences when playing baseball in a different culture, so I think it’s really important to think about it and study it well so that I can take advantage of the good parts of the baseball here (in the United States) and the baseball over there (in Japan),” he told Sciutto.

When asked what the hardest adjustment has been game-wise, Senga said, “It’s definitely the ball, the ball is very different.”

Known for his powerful fastball, the thirty-two-year-old pitcher holds a 7-3 record and 74 strikeouts across 77 innings this season alone. His performance has been instrumental in the Mets’ strong pitching lineup – and their current first place standing in the National League East.

And even though he’s heading to the injured list with Thursday’s hamstring injury, Senga’s fast adaptation – and his 1.39 ERA this season – is only one part of a much bigger story: A growing Japan-to-MLB pipeline that’s sparking international viewership and cross-cultural tourism.

This season, 12 Japanese players appeared on MLB Opening Day rosters — the highest since 2012. The list includes not only household names like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but fresh faces like Roki Sasaki and Shota Imanaga, who are redefining what a rookie campaign can look like.

The fan bases are also growing in numbers. MLB viewership has spiked on both sides of the Pacific this season: ESPN is up 22%, TBS 16%, and NHK in Japan is also up 22%. During March’s Tokyo Series — where the Cubs and Dodgers squared off — over 25 million viewers tuned in, setting a new record for an MLB game broadcast in Japan.

The “Ohtani Effect” has been well-documented in Los Angeles over the last several years.

Japanese fans frequently flock to Dodger Stadium for a chance to see the dugout, the field, and even embark on Japanese-language tours to get a feel for the behind the scenes of the game.

There are even new waves of tourism going straight to Japan itself.

JapanBall Tours, which takes fans from the U.S. to Japan for NPB games, has seen a 27% jump in social media followers this year and a 31% increase in newsletter subscriptions, according to the New York Times.

When asked if this influx of top talent to the US could hurt the Japanese league, Senga pointed to how change is actually a positive.

“We shouldn’t stay the way we are just because things are changing but instead create a system where even if new players leave, the next generation can join in,” Senga said.

It’s not just players – the Mets themselves have a long history with Japan. They played in the first MLB Opening Day game overseas in 2000 at the Tokyo Dome. Back in 1996, they became the first team to play in both Japan and Mexico.

When asked if he’d like to finish his career in the US, the MLB all-star said, “if I could get a long-term contract, that would be my wish.”

Baseball may be the same game in theory – three strikes and you’re out – but the cultural nuances are vast. But Senga points out the experience is actually more complementary than conflicting.

“Over here (in the United States) when the excitement hits, the fans cheer loudly, and you can really tell they’re here to enjoy the game. While over there (in Japan) they enjoy the cheering itself almost as its own activity, so I think that’s a different experience,” he said.

With MLB’s international player count at 265 across 18 countries and a growing share of that coming from Japan, the league is poised to raise the level of competition for international players.

For Senga, though, that does not affect his play. When asked if there is pressure to go up against another Japanese player like Ohtani, Senga said, “I think it’s more the media and the people around me that makes a bigger deal that the (opposing) player is Japanese… For the players themselves, it’s the same experience, whether you’re able to stop the batter or not. So, I don’t think it makes a difference.”

And as for life in New York?

“If it’s New York, pretty easy”, Senga says when asked about finding good Japanese food.

Favorite spot? “I have several.”

CNN
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For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, for birdie or for bogey: Lee Westwood and his wife Helen are living every golf couple’s dream at The Open Championship.

The former world No. 1 rolled back the years to make an impressive start in the 153rd edition of the sport’s oldest tournament at Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland on Thursday, with his spouse caddying every step of his two-under 69 opening round on a rain-soaked Dunluce Links course.

It may be considered an unconventional – but not unheard of – arrangement for most players, but Westwood never had a second thought about his choice on the bag for his 90th major appearance.

“I prefer to have her caddying for me whenever she can,” the 52-year-old told reporters when he returned to the clubhouse, two shots off the lead.

“It was an easy decision for me. Probably harder for her – she’d rather be at home riding her horse.”

The on-course partnership began in 2018, the duo explained on “The Therapy Crouch” podcast earlier this month.

“I knew I could handle the weight of the bag and what have you, but I didn’t have a bloody clue what I was doing,” said Helen, adding that she had never played the sport before that point.

Yet it was a move that reaped instant reward, with Westwood claiming his 24th European Tour victory on their third tournament together. When the pair married in Las Vegas in 2021, their “honeymoon” the following week was spent contesting the US Open in San Diego.

While technical decisions on the course, like the choice of club or shot, start and end with the seven-time Ryder Cup champion, mental matters often fall upon the caddie’s shoulders.

“Sometimes, when I’m kicking off and having a bit of a moan and a whinge, she looks at me and goes, ‘Are you finished?’” Westwood said.

“He’s in a beautiful spot doing something that he loves. I’m like, ‘Grow up, get on with it,’” Helen added.

With world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and home hero Rory McIlroy favorites among a star-studded field as The Open returns to Royal Portrush for just the third time, Westwood arrived as a 500/1 longshot with some bookmakers – but can take heart from the last time the venue played host on the Causeway Coast.

The Nottinghamshire-born golfer finished tied-fourth in 2019, Helen on the bag once again, as McIlroy and a host of other big names were left reeling by testing conditions.

It can serve as hope in his latest bid to shed the unwanted tag as one of the most talented players to never win a major. The best of his nine top-10 finishes came at the Open in 2010, albeit by seven shots, a year after he had agonizingly missed out on making the tournament playoff by a single stroke.

“I love The Open Championship and I love Portrush,” Westwood said Thursday.

“It’s one of the golf courses where if it wasn’t The Open and somebody said, ‘Do you want to go and play Portrush this weekend?’ I’d probably go. And there’s not many courses like that.”

Westwood’s 28th Open start marks his first since 2022, the same year he left the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf. He had been competing in a Dallas event on the breakaway circuit just two days before he stamped his ticket for Royal Portrush with a victory in a final qualifying event earlier this month.

He had held a share of the early lead with Denmark’s Jacob Skov Olesen and China’s Li Haotong at four-under par following a fourth birdie of the opening round at the 12th hole, only for bogeys at the 14th and 16th to drop him back.

“Links golf more than any golf gives you a chance when you’re our age,” Westwood said. “There’s a bit more run on the ball … you’ve got to use the conditions.”

“Can’t beat a senior name up there on a Thursday … we’ll talk again if it’s up there on Sunday,” he added.